The present invention relates to a footrest for a vehicle and particularly a footrest with a breakaway feature.
When traveling in a vehicle, such as an automobile, second row occupants and particularly those with smaller stature can suffer discomfort due to thigh pressure when their feet cannot rest comfortably on the vehicle floor. The problem can be particularly acute with older occupants when traveling long distances, such as on vacations. Although portable footrests are available which rest upon the floor of the vehicle, such footrests take up valuable space and cannot be stored when not in use without taking up valuable storage space in the vehicle. Some airline passenger seats include swing-down footrests which store in a raised position behind the back of a seat in front of the user and swing down to a use position. Although such construction provides some airline travelers with greater foot comfort, the cost of such heavy duty commercial footrests would be prohibitive in the competitive automotive market which is increasingly cost conscious for comfort accessories. In the confined space of a vehicle, second row seat passengers who want to shift their weight by pressing against the footrest to move could break or deform a footrest if not a heavy duty construction.
Thus, there exists a need for a footrest which will accommodate the economics of the automotive environment, as well as provide comfort to a second row seat passenger, and which can be stored in an out-of-the-way position to maximize the convenience of ingress and egress and not restrict the usable area of a vehicle when not in use.
The footrest of the present invention accommodates these needs by providing a footrest which is mounted to the support frame of a forward seat and which is pivotally mounted thereto to be movable between a raised stored position adjacent the back of the seat to a lowered use position for supporting a second row passenger""s feet. The footrest responds to a force above a predetermined level to breakaway to prevent damage to the footrest which can be subsequently returned to the use or stored position. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the footrest comprises a generally U-shaped member having a mounting bracket including a pivot coupling to opposite ends of the frame to allow such pivotal movement. In addition, the mounting bracket and U-shaped member include a deformable stop extending between the two which holds the footrest in a use position but allows the footrest to pivot downwardly and breakaway if an excessive force is placed thereon. In a preferred embodiment of the invention also, the foot-contacting section of the generally U-shaped footrest is covered with an elastomeric material to provide greater comfort and frictional contact for the user""s feet.
These and other features, objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon reading the following description thereof together with reference to the accompanying drawings.